Cricket Australia announced that wicketkeeper-batsman Jimmy Peirson will join the Australian Men’s Test squad ahead of the second Ashes Test against England at Lord’s next month (June).
New Delhi: Cricket Australia announced that wicketkeeper-batsman Jimmy Peirson will join the Australian Men’s Test squad for the second Ashes Test against England at Lord’s next month (June).
The right-handed batter will replace wicketkeeper Jos Inglis, who will join the squad after they face India in the World Test Championship Final at The Oval from June 7–11 and mighty England in the Ashes opener at Edgbaston from June 16–20.
Josh Inglis is the backup gloveman behind regular keeper Alex Carey and both will travel for the beginning of the Aussies tour to the United Kingdom before Inglis returns home to Perth for the birth of his first child with his partner Megan.
Australian team management said that Inglis would re-join the squad later on in the Ashes series and this move gives Peirson a life-changing opportunity to don the baggy green cap, if there is an injury to the regular Australian wicketkeeper.
The 30-year-old, Pierson has averaged less than 30 over his first 35 first-class matches. In the last 30 games since the beginning of the 2020–21 Australian summer, Pierson has an outstanding average of 42.56, including six centuries in the lower middle order.
When Australia A was on their tour to Sri Lanka last year, the 30-year-old batter smashed an unbeaten 128 in the fourth innings of a run chase of 370 runs in Hambantota.
“There’s one keeper on every side, so you know who’s doing your job, and you know who’s going for the same job as you, so you’re aware of how they’re going”, Peirson told cricket.com.au in 2021.
“It’s great to have that competition. That’s what drives you to be the best you can be”, he told.
“If someone’s pipping you, you want to be better than them. That’s certainly one of my great driving factors: I want to be the best; I want to be the next man in”, the Australian added.
“These guys are setting their benchmark, and I want to set my benchmark higher and maybe bring a few other attributes into that as well, through leadership or whatever else,” he concluded.
The second Test of the series will be played at Lord’s from June 28 to July 2. The third will be played at Headingley from July 6 to July 10, the penultimate Test at Old Trafford will be from July 19–23 and the fifth and final Test will be played from July 27 to 31.
(Written By – Utkarsh Rathour)
